I did it!

I knitted a garment! Well, okay, socks and scarves are garments too. . .but this time I did a whole vest. Here is Boy Genius, in the vest I made for his birthday picture (when he’ll wear it with a white dress shirt and khaki or black slacks).

I used the vest from Knitter’s Handy Book of Patterns but eliminated the side seams by knitting the bottom half in the round. I kept it simple, using stockinette stitch with bands of garter stitch at the waist, armholes, and neck. The yarn is City Tweed DK from KnitPicks, and I twisted his arm to get this flattering blue-green “Enchanted” color (he loves orange, but it doesn’t love him back).

I’m very happy with the end results, and so is Boy Genius (that’s a big smile for him!). I especially liked using the Knitter’s Handy Book of Patterns, which is by Ann Budd, and look forward to using it again and again. The charts and directions are set up so that you can select your garment size and knitting gauge and get to work, rather than trying to find yarn/needles to match a specific gauge. The garment designs are basic, perfect for beginners. . .or for using your own imagination to create something unique.

Socks

I did it! I knit a pair of socks all by myself! Okay, so they aren’t pretty; the second heel turned better than the first and still has issues. But Baby Boy doesn’t seem to mind.

I used Crazy Toes and Heels (self published by the author and available here) which is a toe up, two at a time method. I used bamboo size 2 circulars from Addis (next time I’d like to try size 1) and On Your Toes sock yarn. I see now that self-striping yarn is not a good choice for such small feet! And yes, I know that I forgot to start both socks at the same place in the repeat. In general I found the book easy enough for a beginner except for the section on the heel; my favorite part is that the pattern is not a pattern but a formula into which you put your foot measurements and knitting gauge. I used k2 p2 ribbing for the cuffs and realized I need to practice purling–they are a bit loose.

Around and around I knit

Perhaps it only felt like a hundred years that I spent knitting this scarf; after all, I just started knitting in earnest this year. . .but it is knit in the round, 55 stitches per round, 19 rounds per stripe, for a total of 19 stripes. For a slow knitter like me, it took close to an hour to knit one stripe. I will admit that the first few rounds were fun, learning how to do Magic Loop knitting. And then it took me a few stripes to remember how to change colors. But after that? Yawn. The only thing that kept me knitting was knowing how much Drama Boy looked forward to having his very own Gryffindor scarf!

Pattern from Charmed Knits, using the interchangeable circular needles from Knit Picks and Patons Classic Wool Merino in Rich Red and Old Gold from the shop downtown.

House colors

Drama Boy checked out Charmed Knits (by Alison Hansel) from the library. . .I guess he thought it was time I knitted something other than dishcloths. Last week we had a chance to stop by the LYS, where he picked out red (or is it burgundy?) and gold worsted weight wool and I picked up my first set of double-pointed needles. The result? The perfect bookmarker to use while reading Harry Potter.

I am pleased with my first attempt at knitting in the round. I realize worsted makes a rather thick bookmarker, but at least it is thinner than some of the other objects I’ve found him using to hold his place. He had actually asked for a full sized house scarf, so I figured I would use the same yarn for both. The scarf will be my first project on the circular needles that I ordered from KnitPicks last weekend.

Habit forming

I know. . .I said I wasn’t going to knit enough to need a new category! But. . .I was wrong. So far I have stuck with dishcloths: they’re small and useful, which makes them a good way to practice. Here are a few of them:

(l-r) Pattern from Mom; this one has been used and washed many times which is why it lays flatter! The pink is my attempt at making up a simple pattern, playing with how knit and purl work together. Same yarn as the washed one, this time trying a checked design from a library book. And finally, my first attempt to increase and decrease using the pattern on the yarn wrapper.

I’ve been eyeing more ambitious knit projects, especially with a road trip coming up next month, but so far I’ve kept myself busy with my size 8s and some cotton yarn.

I knitted! x2!

Four years ago, while we were sitting around waiting for Silly Boy, Mom taught me how to knit. My dishcloth wasn’t quite half done by the time he was born and so it was stashed away in my yarn bin. By the time my hands were free enough to knit again I had forgotten how, so the poor dishcloth had to stay unfinished. Until last week. Baby Boy and I were visiting Dad and Mom and I got a refresher course. I not only finished my blue dishcloth, I started a variegated one (which I finished this morning while the kids got their teeth cleaned).

 

You may have noticed I’m not adding a category for knitting. I’m not sure if I’ll ever make it past the dishcloth/scarf stage. . .not exactly the kind of projects to blog about more than once (or twice).